Mountainair Town Councilor is Suing the Town of Mountainair

Last week we informed readers via a report from James Freeman that Mountainair is enduring an ongoing conflict between the town’s executive leadership and many of the town residents. In the most recent turn of events, a member of the Mountainair Town Council is suing the Town of Mountainair under the New Mexico Civil Rights Act. This lawsuit may prove to be an interesting case study of the new law.

The Town Councilor suing the Town of Mountainair is Ernie Lopez. His attorney, Eric Dixon, provided a statement:

“…Mr. Lopez has been subjected to a continuous campaign of harassment as a result of his questioning of the Town of Mountainair Police Department….”

Eric D. Dixon
Attorney and Counselor at Law, P.A.

We reached out to Mountainair Mayor Peter Nieto for comment and have yet to receive a response from him. However, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported the Mayor stating:

“I haven’t done anything wrong. Bring it on.”

Mayor Peter Nieto, Town of Mountainair

James Freeman’s story about an officer-turned- whistleblower paints a clearer picture of how the Lopez lawsuit fits into rest of the Mountainair saga. Freeman reported allegations of retaliation against the whistleblower, by Nieto, for allegedly sharing confidential information with the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.

The confidential information Nieto alleged the whistleblower to have wrongly shared with the Attorney General was, according to the whistleblower, evidence supporting claims of alleged excessive use of force by the Mountainair Police Department. We reached out to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office for any comment they might have about the claims made by the whistleblower, and we received the following response:

“The Attorney General is actively investigating various matters regarding the town of Mountainair, and has also referred certain matters to the NM State Police and the NM Law Enforcement Academy Board for appropriate investigation.”

Jerri Mares
Director of Communications & Legislative Affairs for the New Mexico Attorney General

As stories continue to emerge from Mountainair, the narratives seem to share a common thread; more transparency into the goings on of the embattled Mountainair Mayor and Police Chief is needed. We will be following the lawsuit by Lopez, but our readers can check out the District Court filing, below: